A former Croydon binman has spoken about the "disgusting" treatment he claims he received after allegedly being hit by a reversing dustcart while at work.

George Pratley, who worked full time for Veolia at the company's Stubbs Mead depot, on Factory Lane, between 2010 and 2017, says he was out on a bin collection round in January 2012 when he was hit by the dustcart.

He said: "I was working on my usual bin collection round in Kenley when we stopped in Hayes Lane.

"I was loading bins into the back of the lorry for them to be emptied when it started reversing and it hit me straight on."

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"It was very painful and afterwards I was covered in bruises and I could just about walk," he explained.

"I knew straight away that it wasn't the driver's fault because he couldn't see me, but when I called my supervisor to ask for some time to go to hospital, they said I'd have to come back to the depot and report it first."

When he finally got to Croydon University Hospital that afternoon, Mr Pratley, 30, he was prescribed painkillers and was signed off from work for three weeks by a doctor, according to documents seen by the Advertiser.

George Pratley worked full-time for Veolia for seven years (Image: David Cook)

He added: "The driver was really sympathetic and we are still friends now, but the way Veolia treated me after that injury was disgusting.

"I was not allowed to go and get hospital treatment [straight away] and had to go back to the office not knowing if I had any internal bleeding or not."

Mr Pratley, who is a dad-of-one and also has three stepchildren, also recalled a separate incident in which he says he feared he would be hit by a dustcart.

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Mr Pratley came forward to tell his story, after we reported earlier this month that Croydon Council and Veolia had been fined more than £350,000 in total after an employee with learning difficulties suffered life-changing injuries when he was crushed by a dustcart.

The man, who was employed by the council as a workshop cleaner, was hit by the 17-tonne Veolia vehicle as it reversed on May 9, 2016.

When approached for a comment on Mr Pratley's allegations, a Veolia spokeswoman said: "We are committed to treating our employees fairly and helping them to stay in the workforce wherever possible; however, we are not able to comment on specific cases.

"The welfare of our staff is our number one priority and our teams are trained to follow strict safety procedures."

Veolia is currently contracted by Croydon Council to carry out waste management services in the borough.